Reg Bamford v James Death

Good morning from Surbiton.
The bad news is that we awoke to rain.
No more than persistent drizzle, but enough to douse the fiery lawn.

The Plate Final has been underway for some time.
One of the players complained of the slowness.
"You mean slow compared to yesterday?"
"No I mean slow, 9 seconds."
"Oh it can't be that bad."
Lawn 3 was duly measured.
9.5 plummers

Bamford and Death have played 47 ranked games.
Bamford has won 36.
This will be their fifth match in the Open Championship, Death has won one.

This is Death's first Open Singles Final.
It is Bamford's 17th.

Bamford is top of the tree for Open wins with 11, level with Robert Fulford.

The Mangler has generously allowed the commentary team to share his hut.
After all there's not much Mangling left.

The final is scheduled for a 10:30 start.

Elsewhere the Plate final is on lawn 4: Joel Taylor v Harry Fisher (best-of-3).
The Y Doubles is on lawn 5: Eugene Chang & Miranda Chapman v Alison Maugham & Nigel Polhill
This is believed to be the shortest Y final in history: Miranda is the tallest player.
The Z semis are on lawn 2: Grimsley v Morrow, Cumming v Beard.

The players are here, not practising yet.
"Warming up", I mean.

The video equipment is being set up around me.
Same link as the last 2 days:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrNYCwbbHIK4aOxADXCy7eg/live

Correction from yesterday or before.
I couldn't understand why Death's ball was in 1st corner.
It turns out that it was a failed hoop 1!

---"This is believed to be the shortest Y final in history: Miranda is the tallest player"
Haha!
Were the semis yesterday the tallest in history? Avery was obviously the shortest.
Cheers,
Pete [Trimmer]---

That was meant to be in italics.
Forgotten how to do them.
This may indeed be the tallest final ever.

===italics===

no that didn't work.

Still no players on lawn 3.
Reg is in the hut near 2nd corner.
Death chatting in players' tent.

Crowd getting restless, Mangler not intervening.

This is a best-of-3 final.

Will Reg be going for sextuples in the easy conditions?
Couldn't manage a triple yesterday.

The good news is that it has stopped raining, the sun is trying to break through.
Plate Final is in its first game, one break all.

The payers are on the court!

Another missive from Pete Trimmer:
"If the lawn is 9.5 seconds, and the doubles is out of the way, why is it bo3???
Seems like utter madness."

The decision for best-of-3 was taken yesterday, the players then agreeing this late start.
The hope is that if and when we have sunshine, the lawn will dry out.

Having said that, I may have been tempted yesterday to say b-o-5, 9.30 start.
Bamford isn't the quickest player; Death probably is!

Death: "Like lightning in treacle"
Death's finished warming up, Bamford has not.

Maybe the players are vainly waiting for the live streaming to start.
Still some technical difficulty to my right.

Reg Bamford v James Death

The coin toss has been conducted - by me!
Death wins toss, chooses to go second.
Bamford chooses Red and Yellow.
T1 Bamford Red to 9y N of 4th corner.

T2 Death Black to just S of 2nd corner.

Live Streaming is on!

T3 Bamford Yellow at Red from A-baulk. Hits.

T3 Bamford Yellow takes off to Black, nudging Red 1' into lawn. Hits Black (3y) Black is rolled to peg-high just in from W bdry.
Yellow lags to 4 or 5' shy of Red.

Reminder of video site: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrNYCwbbHIK4aOxADXCy7eg/live
Sam Murray on audio commentary.

T4 Death Blue at Red from A-baulk. Misses. Not close.

The Black is only about 1' in lawn.
T5 Bamford Red taps Blue. Stops it 3y N of 4. Rushes Yellow to 4' N of Black. Stops Yellow few yards into lawn. Rush to 1 is good. Runs hoop, has rush to the East.

T5 Bamford Red plays some good rushes and now has 4-ball break.
He will deny it but he may be happier in these conditions.
How many hoops here? Place your bets.

Bamford has made 5. We shall soon see his plan.

Bamford Red will be making just 6 hoops, and a diagonal spread.
Will the rush be for the forward ball (Red) or fro Yellow, to attempt sextuple?

This video thing looks good from here.
There's even a graphic for the clips in the corner.
I am being superseded.

Bamford Red leaves rush for Yellow.
If Death misses his lift, Bamford will be attempting a sextuple.

T6 Death lifts Black, leaving Blue near peg.
Death Black at Blue from A-baulk...

T6 Death Black hits Blue, rushing it to 3y S of 3rd corner.

Death was shooting from near 1st corner, so that was a fairly central hit.
T6 Death Black croquets Blue to 2 going to Red and Yellow. Hits Yellow, stops it in lawn a bit, ubderhits his cut rush to 1. About 4 yards short.
Rolls up to 1, good shot. He's through hoop 1.

T6 Death Black has break.
One presumes he's making 9 hoops.

My expert suggests some POPs maybe, to make potential sextuple more difficult.

T6 Death Black fails to rush Yellow into POPping posi before 4, but he can have another go before 5.

T6 Death Black POPs Yellow well thru 1 before 5. Should have chance to do second POP after 1-back.

T6 Death Black POPs Yellow thru 2 after 1-back.

Lost the internet briefly there, but back on Surbiton wifi.

Death has just made 2-back.

The Blue ball has been left 12y N of 1st corner. Yellow is rushed to the S bdry. Black makes 3-back off Red.

After 3-back Death cuts Red 10y N of Blue (wanted it further North).
Didn't want to knock Blue off the yardline but he does.
Take-off to Yellow, Yellow now 12y S of 4th corner.
Black into 4th corner.

Clips: Bamford Red 1-back, Yellow 3; Death Blue 1, Black 4-back.

Not a bad leave except that Blue is a foot or two in-lawn.
Bamford considering options.
Sextuple surely not plausible starting from 3, I'd have thought 3 hoops with Red would be the aim.

Fisher wins game 1 of the Plate final.

No I haven't lost connection again, Bamford is still thinking.

T7 Bamford lifts Yellow to contact with Black in 4th corner.

T7 Bamford Yellow rolls Black to 7y SSE of 3, leaves himself 6-yarder at Red which he hits.

This is exploiting Death's mistake in not having Blue on the yardline.
Bamford takes-off for rush on Blue. Has 4' rush, needs to cut it.
Rushes it off 2y W of B-baulk.
Needs a good shot now to approach 3...

Bamford over-approaches 3. Looks to be 1y hoop, maybe 40 degrees. Rejected.

My expert was weighing the possibility of a TPO had Bamford made that.

T8 Death Black rejects 9-yarder at Yellow, hits Blue (16y)

Red ball is 6y SW of 2, Yellow 3y ENE of 3.
Death ignores them and leaves rush on S bdry behind 4. Rush pointing to 6 roughly.
Yellow probably wired from Black and Blue.

Bamford has a choice of unattractive shots, with hoops in play on most of them.
T9 Bamford Red at Yellow (21y)...

Bamford hits!
That was probably a last shot in these conditions - you'd back Death to do the TP.

Now Bamford has the chance to make 3 hoops hoping for TP the following turn.
T9 Bamford Red croquets Yellow to 2-back going to Red / Yellow. Flirts with hoop 4.
Hits Black first for some unknown reason.
Has left a cut rush on Blue to 1-back...
Blue is long, 5 or 6 yard roll-up required.

Bamford fails one yard 1-back.

Death Blue is 4 or 5 yards Red.
Looks like Red is in the jaws, but how far thru I can't tell.
Cameraman zooms in to suggest Red is in the middle of the hoop, maybe 1/3 thru.

Death calls for umpire.
T10 Death rushes Red off N bdry.
Yellow is 4' N of 1, Black is 5y E of 4th corner.

T10 Death Blue takes off to Black. Plays excellent rush to yield rush on Yellow.
He's thru 1 without a useful rush.

Another good roll and he's making 2 off Black. He can run hoop to Red, does so.
A few reasonable shots and he can go for standard triple.

T10 Death Blue peels Black thru 4-back after 3. Not far thru.

T10 Death Blue chooses not to rush back to Black after 4, gets eastward pointing rush after 5.
Death warns players on lawn 2 that Blue will be flying in their direction.
Good cut rush to 2y S of 3rd corner.

T10 Death Blue jawses penult peel after 6.

Lawn 2 is now empty, so both Z semis have finished.
Neither has bothered to report their result yet.

T10 Death Blue rush-peels Black thru penult before 2-back.

T10 Death Blue peels rover before 3-back.

Chang & Chapman have won the Y Doubles.

T10 Death Blue is finishong...

Cumming and Grimsley will be playing the Z final.

Death wins game 1 +18tp

The players and I are lunching.

I have enjoyed the excellent as ever Surbiton lunch.

Harry Fisher has won the Plate with 2 triple peels.

Bamford v Death game 2

Bamford elects to start, Death sticks with Black and Blue.
T1 Bamford Red 10y N of 4th corner.
T2 Death Black just S of 2nd corner.

T3 Bamford Yellow at Red from A-baulk. Hits cntre-ball.

T3 Bamford Yellow takes off to Black, hits (4y).
He rolls Black to peg high a bit in from the W bdry, leaves 7' rush for Red.

Not only lunch, Alison Maugham made many of us bacon and egg sarnies for breakfast.

T4 Death Blue to B-baulk. (Not what he dd in game 1.)
Misses Red to 1' E of 4th corner.

did, not dd.

T5 Bamford Red rushes Yellow 7y S of Black. He'd have wanted it nearer than that.

T5 Bamford Red plays good croquet stroke, but rush is a couple of yards short. Take-off approach.

T5 Bamford Red runs hoop 1 with no wire. He needs another good stroke here.

T5 Bamford Red plays roll from beside 1, but doesn't get desired rush on Yellow, so he'll be rolling up from 5y. Copes, has break.
Blue still near 4th corner.

T5 Bamford Red fails to get rush after 3. Rejects take-off to Blue in favour of roll loading 5 going to Yellow at 4.

T5 Bamford Red knocks Yellow past hoop, another take-off approach. Runs 4, still ignores Blue. Hits Yellow, now taking off toBlue.

The crowd is expecting another 1-back leave.

Bamford is unhappy with his croquet stroke out of 4th corner, but it's good enough to continue the break.

T5 Bamford Red has made 6 hoops and is having a diagonal spread.

Chang and Patel are fiddling with the camera.

Bamford finishes his turn. Again the rush is left for Yellow.
Sextuple attempt if Death misses the lift.

I could be cut and pasting most of this from game 1.

T6 Death lifts Blue to nr 1st corner, shoots at Black by the peg...

Death hits!

T6 Death Blue has rushed Black 7y S of 3rd corner. Croquets Black to 2 going to Red / Yellow. Hits Yellow.
Rushes Red a couple of yards past 1, approaches, wipes the ball, runs the hoop.

I cannot see any reason for Death to vary his tactic from game 1: making 9 hoops with 2 POPs on Yellow.

T6 Death Blue attempts to POP Yellow thru 1 before 4. The hoop rejects Yellow. Should be ableto have another go before 5.

T6 Death Blue POPs Yellow thru 1 before 5.
After 5 he croquets Red to 1-back. Red ends up in the jaws of 1-back. That shouldn't matter.

Sorry Red wasn't in the jaws, it was just in front of 2.
Red is now the 2-back pioneer.
Black is 3y E of 1-back.
Yellow is "peeled" thru 1-back in the approach, then POPped back thru afterwards.

The disadvantage of POPpng is that it leaves less timing to construct the contact leave.
Let's see if Death can improve on game 1.

Red is now 2y S of 2nd corner.
Death Blue is making 3-back off Black.
He wants a cut afterward, thoughtfully warning the commentary team that Blue is heading our way.
Black is 4 or 5y North of 1st corner.
Yellow is 13y S of 3rd corner.
Blue into 4th corner.

Clips: Bamford Red 1-back, Yellow 3; Death Blue 4-back, Black 1.

T7 Bamford lifts Red into contact with Blue, takes off to Yellow, hits it. Looking around the N bdry for a leave.
Leaves rush to 1-back for Red from nr 3rd corner.

T8 Death Black at Blue (25y). "Bang" he cries just as Black smacks Blue into 4th corner.

Big roll out of 4th corner. Blue goes 4y past 2, Black is 5y shy of Red. Blue hits Red.

This could be the turn that wins the Championship.

T8 Death Black rushes Yellow 1' W of hoop 1. Makes it, can cut-rush Yellow near Red.

T8 Death Black croquets Yellow to 3, rushes Red north of 2, takes off to Blue, approaches sending Blue 3y E of 2, makes 2, rushes Red W of hoop 1, excellent split sending Red to 4, rushes Red off N bdry NNW of 3.

T8 Death Black fails to roll Blue into ideal peeling position- a bit short. He is able to jaws Blue in 4-back after 3, with his good roll stroke he can afford not to have rush on escape ball.
Again he eschews the Rush north after 4.

After 5 Death Black cuts Yellow 12y S of 3rd corner. Red is 3y ENE of 6. Yellow to 1-back, rush-peels Blue thru 4-back.
Rolls Blue to a reasonable position behind 6.

T8 Death Black makes 6 off Red, peels Blue thru penult by a few inches, maybe a foot.
Next croquet stroke not so great, not ideal on the 1-back pioneer. He copes.

T8 Death Black makes 2-back off Red. Yellow is 4y NNW of 3-back, not the ideal place for doing the rover peel before 3-back.
Death leaves Blue in front of rover.
If he can negotiate the straight rover peel he is Open Champion.

Some years ago I was watching a game with William Ormerod.
That player needed a straight rover peel.
"Lots of things could go wrong here" I opined .
"Eleven" pronounced William.

Death has made the peel.
Two things could still go wrong.

He's missed rushing into rover.
He's avoided the grievous.

Seven foot peg-out.

Making sure. He missed a 10' peg-out on Friday.

James Death is Open Champion

Death wins +18tp +18tp

And now Grimsley wins the Z.
All trophies decided at quarter past two.
Bit different from last year!

Bamford has graciously agreed to be interviewed.
"Very well done to James
"I think I played OK"

Now Jimbo.
"I'm lost for words. Far too long coming. How I got that last break round I don't know.
"Wave of emotion at the end. So pleased to beat someone as good as Reg.
"Apart from the two 4th turns I hit everything.
"I need a drink!"

Also from Reg's interview he was contemplating a delayed sextuple in game 1 [T7].

The traditional table is covered with a green tablecloth and many trophies.
Presentation soon...

Joel Taylor complains that his name is not on the Z trophy (which he won last year).
Apparently they went with J Burch!

The lawn 3 hoops are already gathered in.

Surbiton has been an excellent host as usual. The lawns are superb, just a shame about the overnight rain.
So much work behind the scenes to host an event such as this.
Slightly invidious to name one person, but without George Noble this Club would not be what it is.

Lovely sunshine now.
Mangler and others scurrying round organizing the presentation.
You can watch the presentation on youtube, we are still streaming.

Sun back behind clouds.
Nearly ready.

Excellent performance from Death.
Missed 4th turn both games, otherwise perfect.

Lost internet again!

Quiller is speaking.
"Thank Surbiton for being Surbiton."
He mentions the new technology.

Usual handshakes. Bamford won the peeling prize with 54 points, thanks to only sextuple of the event. (Normal winning score is 5 times that.)

James Death spoke eloquently on behalf of the players, thanking all the many volunteers.
He revealed his bar bill for the week was £187, a new personal best. Boosted of course by having to buy many opponents drinks.

Good month for Death: Men's Champion, Open Singles and Doubles Champion

That's all folks.
Bye for now.
Andrew